Improvement in operating feed-wheels in sewing-machines



GEORGE W. lPOWERS', OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. Letters Patent No. 72,676, dated December 24, ,18h71 IMPROVEMENT IN OPERATING FEED-WHEELS IN SEWING-MACHINES.

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'ro ALL WHOM 1T MAY ooNoEEN:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. POWERS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,

vhave invented an Improved Friction-Feed f or Sewing-Machines, tc.; and I dlo hereby declare that the following, taken in' connection with the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description of' my invention sutlicient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

The invention uelates particularly to the construction. of that class of swing-machine wheel-feeds in which lintermittent rotary'movement is imparted to the feed-wheel, by the aetionof a friction-foot or lever, which,

actuated in one direction, carries with it the wheel, and actuated in the opposite direction, slips over and effects no movement of the wheel.

My invention consistsin the peculiar construction and arrangement ofthe device or devices throughwhich such intermittent movement of the wheel is effected. l i

The drawings rfcpresent a feed-wheel embodying my inventionA showihg an edge view, and B a face view of the same. C, a face view, with'th'e `actuating-lever or levers removed. a denotes the feed-wheel, the inter-- mitteilt rotative movement of which is to impart theintermittent progressive movement to the cloth or other material to be movetl, when the wheel is applied to a sewing-machine or other mephanism to which such feed is adapted. This wheel is made inshell-former has a. peripheral rim, b, proJeeting from its web or disk, c, and it is mounted upon. a Stationary shaft, d, or. a screw-pin or centre, e, entering said shaft, the wheel turning -readily but not loosely thereupon. In the plane of the rim b, and also mounted on`the shaft or screw-pin, is a roeker-plate,f, turriing loosely on the shaftga-nd havingjointed to it, by a. pin, g, one or more friction-pawls or levers, it, one face o f which lies in contact or in juxtaposition to the inner surface ofthe rim 6, being, however,

lso applied, that wane at the end nearest thejoint-pin, the pawl maybe iir'dtreot contact'.v with the rim, itsoppo site end stands somewhat away therefrom, -as seen at C. Euch pawl is interposed between one edge of the plate f and the rim In, and between the inner face of the pawl, near its point, and the adjacent face of the rockerplate, is anentering-wedge or pin, z', hung to or projecting from an actuating-arm or lever, 1:,jointed to the rocker-plate at Z, as seen at B, oneend of the lever extending out from thcwheel, into any convenient position to be properly operated upon by the sewing-machine, or other mechanism to which the wheel is to be applied. The relative position ofthe outer end of the impelling-lever, its fulcrum and pin or wedge, with respect` to each other, and to the friction-pawl, isv such that movement of the lever in one direction, forces the pin or wedge in between the paw'l and rocker-plate, and presses the outer face of the pnawl up against the -fecd-wheel rim, causing the lever, wheel, and plate to move togetheras one p ieee, while movement in the opposite direction releases v the pawl from the pressure o f the wedge or pin, and turns the rocker-'plate without effecting any movement ofthe feed-wheel. Where an entering-pin is applied directly to the actuating-lever k', as seen in the modification; at the upper part of A, the movement of the lever itself will instantly force the pin between the roekerlplatevl and the pawl t, but where an entering-wedgeis located with respect to .the pawl and plate, as shown at A and B, a spring, Z, is preferably employed, to force the pawl against the wheel, the movement of the lever-,arm in' the direction of the arrow x releasing the pawl from the action of :the spring, and eifecting the movement of the rocker-plate, without moving-the wheel. It will readily be seen that the feed-movement of the wheel is made certain by this arrangement ofideviees, the pawl being pressed with'more or less stress against the'wheel, or more -or less of its surface being brought into-contact with the wheel-surface, accordingly as the resistance to the movement of the wheel varies, the liability ofthe pawlto slip, moving in the direction in which the wheel is to be impelled, being obviated by the construction, arrangement, and method of operation of the pawl. The actuating-arm of the lever may be variously located in relation tothe pawl and other mechanism, as shown vby the respective positions ofthe lever-arms at A.

I amaware thata rotative frictiony-feed'is not in itself broadly new. Instances of such feeds maybe seen' in United Sta'tes Patents, 10,879 and 57,287',and my invention has only reference to the specific construction and arrangement for rendering such feeding-devices practical in constructiomand reliable in Operation.

` For convenience of illustration, the modification, in the relative arrangement of the pawl and lever', and the device operated by the lever to press out the pawl, is shown at B, (and also to some extent at 0,) in the. same view in which the pawl,wedge, lever, and spring n 'e represented, but it will, of course, be understood that they are not employed together, I

I claim the combination ofthe lever, friction-pawl, and entering-wedge or pin, together, and witlrthe feed.

' wheel and rocker-plate, when the whole are constructed and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

Witnesses:

J. B. GnosBY, 'FRANCIS GOULD.

f GEO. W. POWERS. 

